Of Living and Learning
by Sunset's Requiem
Summary: The secrets surrounding vampires have always been impenetrable throughout history. But one genius mind would finally crack its mysteries. This sends her plunging through a whirlwind of events, threatening her life and the existence of the Night Class.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Knight belongs to Hino Matsuri. And the name 'Ratoleia' comes from Matsuri Sensei's MeruPuri.

**CHAPTER 1**

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Kairi Ratoleia stared up at the massive cathedral-like structure of Cross Academy. She sighed in resignation. _I wanted to avoid coming here…going so far as to bring up suggestions of being put up for adoption. A whole lot of good that did, _she thought bitterly. Squaring her shoulders, she walked past the giant gates and into the building, intent on finding the Chairman's office.

_Chairman Cross would be happy to have another 'daughter'…_

15 minutes and 7 wrong turns later, Kairi wished the gods had blessed her with a better sense of direction. She was hopelessly and utterly lost. It didn't help that the campus grounds were so massive and the school didn't bother pitching up a directory.

Right now she was wandering down a sheltered walkway that connected one block to another. The previous building she was in had been the classroom block which didn't have a single soul since today was a Saturday. Honestly, couldn't they have labeled the buildings with some huge signboards? The redheaded girl was sure she wasn't the only directionally-challenged student here in the prestigious boarding school. Was she?

_Never mind that,_ Kairi put more purpose in her stride and hoped she would chance upon someone to ask for directions. It was bad enough that she had to travel by ferry to the island and almost got lost a few times getting to Cross Academy itself. Now the evening was setting in and she had yet to locate the administration block.

A looming structure ahead caught her attention. It was larger than the other blocks she had passed so far on this side of the campus. She was sure as hell she had strayed _way_ off course. The building looked more like the student dorms. Kairi prayed it wasn't the one for vampires.

Oh, she knew all right. She had known of the existence of vampires since she was a tot. Truth to be told, she was fascinated by them. Sure, people were always saying they were fearsome blood-sucking creatures and all but her scientist parents got her so interested in them.

Dr. Lucas and Dr. Reiko Ratoleia were top leading scientists in their field. They specialized in the research and study of bio-genetics. The couple took their work to the next level by examining vampire cells and their genetic make-up. They had wanted to find out what was incorporated in these ethereal immortal creatures' DNA that was able to repel all sickness. Though vampires had the same physical appearance as that of humans, their DNA structure had to be vastly different as they had superpowers and the need for blood, her parents had theorized.

So after Kairi was born, Lucas and Reiko immersed themselves with finding out the secret of the vampires' immunity to disease and time. And to have precious bonding moments with their daughter as well, the couple always had Kairi in the lab with them during work. As such, she'd grown up knowing about vampires, studying about vampires and ultimately becoming captivated.

Her mother had told her once when she was younger that the research daddy and she were doing was to help humanity. To find out why vampires were immune to viruses and to spread the knowledge to other people so that the sick and suffering would have hope. Her young mind back then had absorbed all this with a cheerful outlook, believing wholeheartedly her parents were Mankind's saviors.

Now she wished her parents hadn't delved into the secrets surrounding those beautiful otherworldly creatures. She almost wished she didn't know about their existence either.

Lucas and Reiko had cracked the first few stages of the mystery that was known as Vampire. They had found out why these creatures had need for blood and why they remain constantly immune to sicknesses. The World Health Authority had praised the couple for their efforts and endless dedication to the project. Another 7 years later, her parents stumbled upon something big, something concerning the Purebloods and that ability of theirs…...

The ability to turn a human into a vampire.

This knowledge that they had stumbled upon made the World Health Authority Board decide that her parents had overstepped their bounds regarding the project. Those old coots felt that they now knew things that were too important, too harmful for Mankind.

So they gave the order for their family to be eliminated, along with their years of hard work.

Kairi still remembered how her mother had begged her with her dying breath to seek out her grandmother and to continue on their research for them. Her father had already been dead by then, shot down when he shielded her and her mother. By some stroke of luck, she'd survived, her mother's corpse draped over her as protection in the final moments of maternal love. The assassins had assumed she was dead too and had left, looting on their way out.

She made her way from the States to Japan where her only grandparent was left. Her maternal grandmother had welcomed her and given her the backup copy of the project. Apparently, her parents had anticipated something like this and had left a copy of their research where it would be safe until their daughter came to claim it. So for the next one year, she had lived in Japan with her grandmother, attending school like a normal girl.

Until hired killers came knocking at their door.

The day her only other relative died, Kairi felt a door close on her forever. The solicitor for her grandmother's sprawling estate had shown her the will of her parents. It was stated that under the circumstances should she have no where else to go to, Chairman Cross of Cross Academy would gladly take her in as his own daughter since her parents and he were on close terms.

To be sent to a boarding school where vampires roamed in abundance, Kairi didn't think she could take it. She had argued tooth and nail for other options but the solicitor was firm. The will stands so she was off to a foreign island to attend prestigious Cross Academy after affairs of her grandmother's funeral had been settled.

Kairi didn't know if she should scream in anguish or jump for joy. All these years of studying vampires and their hierarchy, she hadn't seen one yet so the prospect of actually meeting one was exciting but at the same time served as a reminder why her parents had died.

_Damned those people. Killing off my parents like that after all the sweat and effort they put into improving Humanity…all because _they_ were the ones scared of the immense knowledge surrounding the Purebloods! _

Her feet finally stopped in front of the massive doors of the building. Kairi cleared her head of murderous thoughts toward her own species. She was at Cross Academy and it was the here and now that matters. At least, she wouldn't have to worry about anyone getting killed because of her. The vampires held court here and she doubted those cowards dare to venture into the lair of the beast, so to speak.

She raised her fist and knocked firmly. There was no response. She frowned and knocked once more. Again, nothing. With furrowed brows, she grasped one door handle and pushed. The door swung open and the redhead blinked back her surprise. _They're not locked? Don't these people care about safety?_ She poked her head in and took in the sight of an empty elaborate dorm lobby that resembled more the sitting room of a rich mansion or 6-star hotel. Cautiously stepping in, she closed the door soundlessly behind her. Noticing a set of steps leading up, she crossed the room and began to climb.

Not halfway up the stairs, a smooth baritone voice halted her ascend.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Kairi froze and lifted her head up to look at the person. What she wanted to say caught in her throat.

The person standing beside the railing atop the stairs was ethereally and impossibly good-looking. He had silken dark hair that trailed around his neck and fell across his forehead and searing crimson eyes. Those eyes were pinned on her and she came to a startling realization.

"Vampire…"

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A/N:

This will be a KanamexOC, with YuukixZero on the side. If you're not thrilled at the idea, don't read.

I suppose Kairi can come off as being some perfect girl, all good looks and prestige but she'll be having major weaknesses too. More of the emotional kind though. So don't wreck at me about her being another Mary Sue type OC. I can't stand those too.

This chapter is dreary but I had to lay the groundwork. I always have a habit of doing that for every first chapter…which I think I should break.

Reviews/comments are welcomed! And if you criticize, try to make it reader-friendly.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own VK

**Disclaimer: **Don't own VK. Just my OC.

**CHAPTER 2**

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Cold sweat beaded on her temples at the realization she was facing a vampire for real. A Pureblood at that, those crimson eyes spoke of his heritage. Kairi forced her vocal cords to work.

"My name is Kairi. I was looking for the admin block but got lost. I kept walking to find someone for directions and now I'm here." She gave herself a pat on the back for not wavering in her speech and sounding confident when she was absolutely hyperventilating on the inside.

The Pureblood considered her for a moment. Then he walked down the steps she hadn't climbed and stopped before her. Leaning down, his mouth brushed her ear as he asked softly, "How did you know what I am?"

Kairi flinched at the close contact. She backed down a few steps and resisted the urge to cup her ear.

"Your eyes; it gave you away." She managed to croak out.

Kaname Kuran took in her appearance; faded jeans and a black cardigan with mussed waist-length red hair and tired wide purplish-blue eyes. The girl was actually very pretty. And if the way her jeans hugged her legs were any indication, she had a fairly excellent body under her clothes.

"Your last name, please."

He watched as she hesitated in revealing her last name to him. He was going to ask again but got interrupted by the Moon Dorm's Vice-Dorm Leader. Takuma Ichijou rounded a corner and started at the sight of an unfamiliar human girl and Kaname standing together.

Noticing how the redhead tensed ever so slightly, he gave her a warm smile as he approached.

"Hello. I see you've met the Moon Dorm's Leader. I am Takuma Ichijou, the Vice-Dorm Leader. You are…?"

"Kairi," she managed to get out. Two _vampires? Oh no, no, no, no, no…_

"I'm sure you have a last name." Kaname eyed her with a steely gaze.

At this point, the redhead began to panic internally. Should she reveal her last name to them? These two were high-ranked vampires. Surely they knew of the Ratoleia family that did ground-breaking research on their kind. Heck, the Purebloods and Nobles were the ones who gave their consent for the project with aid from Chairman Cross! She knew about the many vampire clans from her parents and the Ichijou clan comprised of nobles. Add a Pureblood into the mix and she suddenly felt apprehensive toward their reactions if they found out so soon she was the daughter of the late Lucas and Reiko Ratoleia.

"I just need directions to the admin block," she practically pleaded.

"Third building from the gate," Takuma said before Kaname had a chance to open his mouth.

Kairi made for the door at a near sprint with hurried thanks. Once she was out, she continued running until she was a fair distance away from the dorm. Leaning against a pillar, she took in a few calming breaths. _God…I just did something really stupid back there. I showed fear. Damned, _she chastised herself. How was she to continue her parents' research if she clammed up upon meeting a vampire? Here at Cross Academy, she has the chance to work with real species of the vampire race. Her parents would have gone overboard with happiness if they were in her shoes.

Sighing and suddenly feeling very weary, Kairi pushed off from the pillar and jogged to the school's gate. From there, she figured out the third block and made her way into Chairman Cross' office.

Back in the Moon Dorm, Kaname was giving Takuma an irritated look. "Why did you do that?"

The other vampire shrugged. "She was clearly uncomfortable in our presence and you weren't making it any better. She's a student here so I'm sure you'll meet up with her again."

The blond vampire began walking back to his room. As he passed Kaname, he added, "If not, you can always ask the Chairman for her information."

Walking with leaden steps, Kairi tuned out all thoughts and sounds as she walked down the long hallway to the office door of the Chairman. Forgetting to knock before opening the door, she became aware of eyes staring at her and lifted her head. There were three pairs of eyes to be exact, one belonging to a petite girl, another to a tall silver-haired boy and the last pair was bespectacled.

"…Did I interrupt something?"

The Chairman leaped up at her words and rushed at her with his arms outstretched.

"Kairi! My, how you've grown!"

Kairi tried to breathe as the Chairman suffocated her in a bone-crushing hug. The petite girl came to her rescue and pried her overly affectionate foster father away, tossing him aside to the boy's arms where the teenager promptly dropped the man on his butt.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, looking over Kairi for any sign of fractured bones.

"Peachy," she coughed.

Yuuki helped the newcomer up and glared at her foster father. "Chairman! Don't do that again!"

"Oh, my precious daughter is rebelling against her dear father!" He wailed dramatically. A recovered Kairi stared while the two other students rolled their eyes.

"Ignore him," Yuuki muttered before saying in a chipper tone, "Hi! I'm Yuuki Cross. That sulky boy there is Zero Kiryuu. We're the school prefects and the idiot Chairman is my foster father. Unfortunately," she said the last part in an undertone meant for Kairi to hear only.

The redhead gave a small grin and Yuuki replied in kind. Kairi directed her gaze to Zero and he acknowledged her with a nod. Rounding on the still prostrating dramatically Chairman, Kairi cleared her throat. "Umm…Sir? About my transfer to Cross Academy?"

"Huh? Oh, right." He settled back into his chair and folded his arms over the desk, demeanor serious now. Kairi sweatdropped at the 180 degree change.

"Your papers are in order and your belongings have arrived at the dorm already. You will begin lessons on Monday along with Yuuki and Zero. They can help you familiarize with the school grounds and classes. If you're unsure about anything, you can always ask either one of them or me." In a gentle tone, he added, "After all, you're family now."

"Thank you, Sir—" her words got cut off by the Chairman's violent head shaking.

"No, no, no! This won't do! You're one of my daughters now so you should call me father!"

Yuuki and Zero stoned on the spot before craning their heads in Kairi's direction for affirmation to the Chairman's words.

"Err, thank you……fa—father." Indulging the man once wouldn't do any harm.

The overjoyed school director either took no notice of her stumbling over the word or he chose to ignore it, and squealed in delight. "Welcome to our family, my new cute daughter!" He cast Yuuki and Zero a look. "You two should learn from your sister!"

Zero was about to pounce on the Chairman but Yuuki held him back. Kairi sweatdropped again. Seems the foster children barely tolerated their foster father.

Once Zero decided not to murder Chairman Cross, Yuuki released him and skipped to Kairi's side, clasping their hands together. "Wow! I didn't know you were going to be the Chairman's foster daughter. Now I have a sister! Which beats having Zero as company all the time."

"You're the one sticking to me," He replied without missing a beat.

"Oh, shush!"

The Chairman simply watched the banter with a silly grin before switching his gaze to study the teenager the little girl that he remembered had grown into.

"Zero, Yuuki, please leave us."

The prefects stopped their argument abruptly and exchanged glances before shuffling out the door at the serious look on the Chairman's face.

Chairman Cross sighed and steeple his fingers, resting his forehand on his hands. Kairi fidgeted and wondered what he had to say.

"Kairi…I'm terribly sorry for the loss of your parents. I never imagine things would turn out the way they did. I would have done something, _anything_, to help. But I was tied up in my own affairs then and didn't get the news until after they had passed."

He looked up at her then, his eyes regretful. "You're a strong girl. You've been holding up all this time. Along with the research,"

Kairi stiffened at the mention of the research. "Sir, may I ask something?"

He gave her the go ahead. She organized her thoughts and asked, "The vampires. They study with the humans?"

The Chairman shook his head in the negative. "No, they attend separate classes. They are what we call the Night Class. They have different study hours and a separate dorm from normal students. Again, I apologize. We should have been more specific in detailing Cross Academy's…eccentrics in your parents' will."

"I see. Then, may I have permission to work with them regarding the continuation of my parents' work?"

The director looked incredibly taken aback at her words. He regained his bearings, "Of course you do. That goes without saying. I'm surprised, though. But this is good news. It would further strengthen the bond between humans and vampires that we have been trying to achieve."

Kairi swallowed and nodded. She'd just given her word to continue her parents' project to Chairman Cross. She hoped she could keep it.

"There's one more thing, Sir. If anyone from the Night Class asks for my last name, please don't tell them."

Kaien Cross raised an eyebrow in response to her. When she next spoke, Kairi was firm.

"I want to approach them on my own terms."

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After the talk with the Chairman, Kairi found her way to the Sun Dorm and her room with minimal backtracking and getting lost. It was a simple four-walled space with two beds on against each side accompanied by a cupboard at the foot of the bed. A dresser and a desk were in between the beds. There was an adjoining door to a toilet. And being a sudden transfer into Cross Academy, she had the whole room to herself as no one was scheduled to be her roommate. This was good as it allowed her privacy to carry out her research on the vampires. If someone saw how the research was conducted, no doubt they would become squeamish as it involved a fair amount of blood.

She unpacked her trunks and stored away her belongings before hitting the shower room which was currently empty at this time of the night. Once she was clean, she sat down on the bed and looked over her timetable which the Chairman handed to her before she left his office. Dinner was at 7 pm onwards every day to 8 pm and Kairi glanced at the clock which showed 7.26 pm. A yawn overtook her face and she decided to forgo dinner and just go to sleep immediately.

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A/N:

Another dreary chapter. I really should stop doing that…

And a review would be nice.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: VK is Hino Matsuri's property

**fDisclaimer: **VK is Hino Matsuri's property.

**CHAPTER 3**

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The sunlight streaming in though the windows hit her eyelids and Kairi blearily opened her peepers. She shifted her head from side to side as she took in the unfamiliar ceiling. The foggy state of her mind cleared and she realized she was now boarding at Cross Academy.

Dragging herself up, she sat at the bed's edge and pressed her palms against her gritty eyes, clearing them of sleep. She stood and stretched while giving a cursory glance at the wall clock. Her indigo eyes popped open at the time. 11 am?! Kairi didn't remember when she had ever slept in so late. A loud growl from her stomach alerted her that she skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning.

Gathering her bathing supplies, she made haste and got ready for the day in record time. The dorm was already abandoned, the students either having lunch or off enjoying themselves in town. As she jogged to the cafeteria, Kairi felt rather relieved that she had slept in. That way, she wouldn't have to face any students until classes tomorrow.

The cafeteria was also pretty much abandoned when she arrived. There were only a handful of students sitting at the tables eating. No doubt majority of the population were in town having fun on a Sunday. Kairi got into the queue and ordered a lunch set. Holding her tray, she scanned the café for a seat and settled down at a table beside a window.

Munching absentmindedly, she began to prioritize her tasks for the day. First off, she ought to go visit the Chairman and ask for Yuuki or Zero to show her around. It wouldn't do to be late for her first day tomorrow because her sense of direction led her astray into circling the campus grounds. Then there's the matter with the vampires……

Her chomping slowed as she contemplated how to best broach the topic of becoming test subjects to the residents of the Moon Dorm. She had made her resolutions last night to forget everything she had left behind on the mainland now that she was at Cross Academy. It was time to start anew. Plus she really needed to catch up on the research as she had left it on a year-long hiatus since her parents' death. Coming here and living independently made a good motivating factor.

Kairi finished off her lunch by downing her glass of iced tea and made her way to the admin block. Now that she knew where some blocks of the Academy were located, she had no problem finding her way. She was blessed with a photographic memory which she supposed made up for the distinct lack of directional sense.

Knocking politely, Kairi waited outside the door until the Chairman's voice called for her to enter. She stepped in and greeted a good afternoon. "Where can I find Zero or Yuuki? I was hoping to get a tour of the school grounds."

Kaien beamed at the sight of his new foster daughter. "Kairi! I hope you find your dorm all right. As for my other darling daughter and son, I sent them off to town to collect some packages for me. I'm afraid you'll have to explore the campus on your own."

"Oh." She concealed the slight panic in her tone. Exploring by herself? Nuh-uh! She did that before years back and it landed her in a shallow pool of seawater infested with jellyfishes. The pain of the stings was still firmly implanted in her memory. She'd vowed never to go off on her own again unless absolutely necessary and hated those translucent tentacled creatures ever since.

"Would you like the Moon Dorm's Leader to give you a tour instead?"

"_No!"_

The Chairman blinked at her immediate reply.

Kairi quickly amended herself. "I mean, no, because I need more time to organize before I approach the vampires."

Her foster father accepted that answer and she phew-ed mentally. Really, the excuse was partially true. She did need to sort through the research and rearrange the files. It wasn't like she didn't want to meet that gorgeous Pureblood so soon since the feeling of his lips against her ear still sends strange delicious shivers up her spine. Well, not _entirely_ anyway.

_Whoa! What am I thinking? _She reckoned the strange turn her thoughts took was due to something in the lunch. Bowing, she left the office and returned to the Sun Dorm. Chairman Cross said her new uniform would be arriving soon. Kairi suppose she'll just chill in her room and actually go through the project's files.

When she reached her room, the redhead flopped on the bed and thought about when she should drop by the Moon Dorm again. She really needed to get started. And since she had to confront the vampires eventually, might as well get it over sooner than later right? Right. It occurred to her belatedly she didn't get the name of the Pureblood she met. _Ah, well._

She got up and reached for a drawer in the desk, pulling out a thick folder. Flipping it open, a sense of nostalgia threatened to overwhelm her as her eyes looked over the familiar gentle curves of her mother's handwriting and the harsh lines of her father's scrawl in tiny notes here and there. Her vision becoming blurry and Kairi quickly tilted her head upward to prevent tears from falling. Honestly, didn't she give herself a prep talk last night to let it go?

_Let's see…think happy thoughts. Like…YUUKI! Yeah, that girl seems to be the constantly happy type. _Her self-therapy session got interrupted by a knocking at her door. Kairi sniffled and stuffed the project folder back in the drawer before opening the door. A delivery boy handed her a package and she signed her name on the clipboard. Closing the door after her, she ripped open the box and lifted the uniform for inspection. Yanking the blinds shut, she tried out the clothes. Turning over in front of the mirror, Kairi had to admit Cross Academy's uniform was certainly one of a kind. The white color went nicely with her coloring.

Craning her neck over her shoulder to see how her back looked in the new uniform, her mind came to a complete halt when her memory brought up the scene of Yuuki and Zero in the Chairman's office yesterday. Black! They wore _black_ uniforms! Why did she get a _white_ one? Unless…

Her anger surfaced and she jammed her feet into the standard issue black school boots before rushing to the admin block.

Slamming open the door of the Chairman's office, Kairi paid no heed to the fact that her foster father was having an audience. She stomped to his desk and gestured wildly at the uniform she wore. "What is this?!"

Chairman Cross was unperturbed by her angered tone. "It's your new uniform, Kairi. I see it fits nicely. You look very smart in it."

The redhead disregarded his compliments and half screamed at him, "Why is it _white_?! You had plans to put me in the Night Class and you didn't _think_ to tell me about it?"

The Chairman waved his hands in a placating manner. "There's a good reason for this change. Wouldn't being in the Night Class improve your relations with the vampires?"

"Would it be so bad to study with us?" A familiar voice added. Kairi's frame stiffened and she whipped her head to see Takuma Ichijou and…the Pureblood.

_Oh hell._

"I would prefer if I was informed of such major changes beforehand." She said stiffly, avoiding answering the vampire's question and shot the Chairman a cold glare.

The school director gave a cheeky grin. "Come now, Kairi. Like Ichijou said, would it be so bad to study with the Night Class? They are the elites of the school, you know."

Now she understood why Zero was out for the Chairman's blood. She restrained herself from punching the grinning man out cold. "With all due respect, I'd rather not. Yet, that is." She needed time to fully steel herself before stepping foot in a class full of vampires.

The Chairman relented. "All right then. In that case, you'll need to do something else since you chose not to join the Night Class yet. You'll have to become a Guardian."

"A Guardian?" she asked and ignored the burning gaze locked on her back by one Pureblood vampire whose name she has yet to know of.

"They are the school prefects, though that it just a cover. Their real job is to act as the school Guardians to protect the secrets of the Night Class from the other students. Since you have knowledge of vampires, you'll make a good Guardian. I've read your previous school records and it says you're efficient in several forms of self-defense."

_Protecting the Night Class? Doesn't sound so hard, _she mused. "So I'll be working with Yuuki and Zero?"

The Chairman nodded. "This is all temporal, of course. When you do join the Night Class, you'll have to stop your Guardian duties."

She nodded. "I can deal."

The wattage of the smile Chairman Cross sent her way after she accepted her new Guardian role nearly blinded her with its intensity.

"Oh, this is absolutely wonderful! My new adorable daughter working together with her equally cute sister and loving brother! What a perfect picture that would make!"

Kairi wasn't the quick-to-judge type but seeing the Chairman do a little happy dance as he loudly fantasized about the happy moments of a father knowing his children are working harmoniously, she was inclined to think Cross Academy's director had a few loose screws.

She left the man alone in his own happy little world and turn to leave. Her exit was blocked by the two vampires however. Ichijou smiled at her while the Pureblood eyed her suspiciously.

"You have yet to give us your last name. I think we should get better acquainted, don't you? Since you obviously know a lot about our kind," He said casually but Kairi didn't miss the tense undertones in his smooth voice or the hard glint in those crimson eyes.

"Are you really the Chairman's new foster daughter?" This came from Ichijou.

"Yeah," she said, though her azure eyes were locked on the reddish orbs of the Pureblood. The Noble vampire raised a fine brow. "Ask him," Kairi shot a look at the giddy Chairman who was still caught up in his imaginations.

"As for getting better acquainted, you haven't told me your name either," She retorted.

The Pureblood inclined his head, "Apologies, I am Kaname Kuran."

_Leader of the vampires, huh?_ Her photographic memory immediately registered the Kuran name.

And what better way to get a head start on the project than informing the head honcho?

Seeing her chance to establish herself in the vampire race, she decided to cross at least one hurdle first. She'd already made up her mind to continue her parents' work. Associating with the vampires was inevitable. But she needed to know this one thing almost desperately.

"Can I trust you, completely and unconditionally?"

Kaname's eyes widen a fraction at the unexpected question. This girl was a mystery. Her sudden appearance in Cross Academy, becoming a foster child to the Chairman and her knowledge of vampires. Plus her reluctance to reveal her last name, though he was sure it had something to do with his kind. He saw the fire of determination burning in her unique purple-blue eyes and in that moment he realized. She had something of great importance to protect, so much that she needed the cooperation of vampires. So much that she needed _his_ word, a spoken promise.

_She would have to be an orphan, _his mind rationalized. After all, it wasn't like Chairman Cross to could take her in as a foster daughter unless her real parents were dead.

He thought about what it would mean to give her his word. She was certainly a spitfire, barging in on the Chairman and demanding her rights. Kaname was suddenly reminded of the silken softness of her cheek when they brushed faces accidentally last night at the stairs. He felt himself wanting to see what she would do next.

Taking in the determined posture of her slim frame, he felt oddly compelled to help her, protect her even. The leader of the vampires couldn't forget the near broken look she had last night when he pressed her for her last name. If it was in his power to help her, then he would.

"Yes." He answered her steadily.

The vampires watched as relief washed over her and her stance becoming less uptight in their presence.

"Thank you," Kairi said sincerely and moved to the door. They didn't stop her this time.

The redhead paused with her hand on the doorknob.

"Ratoleia."

Kaname and Takuma started at the name of the famous scientist couple who were frequently mentioned in the vampire race before their demise a few years back.

She twisted the doorknob. "My last name is Ratoleia."

With a swish of her long blood red hair, she left, thereby missing the absolute stunned shock on the faces of the Pureblood and Noble vampire.

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A/N:

Kaname finally learns of Kairi's last name! Things will start progressing from here.

Our beloved Pureblood is thinking of Kairi too. I mean, sure, he's still fixated on Yuuki but it's not entirely impossible for a newcomer to capture his attention.

The issues between Yuki and Kaname will be resolved, more or less, in later chapters since she'll be with Zero and Kaname will be free to pursue other interests.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: VK is not mine

**Disclaimer: **VK is not mine.

**CHAPTER 4**

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"She's alive?"

Kaname gave a terse nod in Hanabusa Aidou's direction.

"Aren't all the Ratoleias dead for the past three years?"

"Two." Akatsuki Kain corrected his cousin. Aidou gave an annoyed look at Kain, "Fine, two. But the point is they're all supposed to be dead right? Along with their work,"

"Apparently," Rima began. "She survived." Senri Shiki finished for her. Those two had a knack for reading each other's minds. "She was supposed to join the Night Class, you know." Takuma piped up from his prop against Kaname's armrest. "But she declined. For now, anyway,"

Kain lifted a brow. "Join us? What for? She's a human."

The Vice-Dorm Leader retold what happened at the Chairman's office, though he left out the part of Kairi asking if she could trust them. It was Kaname's decision to tell. When he finished, the vampires stared back at him in disbelief.

"The Chairman's new foster daughter?" Aidou blurted.

"And a Guardian as well?" Kain asked.

"Improving relations with us? She may be a Ratoleia, but what has that got to do with anything?" Ruka Souen leaned forward in her seat with narrowed eyes.

"Everything,"

The gathering of vampires jumped at the new voice. They snapped their heads toward the dorm's main door. A redheaded girl stood there in the Night Class uniform.

Surprise and something along the lines of a smile appeared on Kaname's face. Ruka noticed this and immediately directed a death glare at the new girl. _Who does she think she is? Barging in like that!_ The beautiful vampire thought snappishly.

Takuma moved to greet her. "Kairi! What are you doing here? How long have you been—"

"I heard everything," she cut in and strode into the room, stopping before the vampires.

They regarded her with hostility and Kairi gave an exasperated sigh. "I just need to have a few words. Can you please listen first before attempting to murder me with your glares?"

_At least some of them have the decency to look embarrassed. There may be hope yet. _She carefully looked over each one of them, memorizing their faces. Her attention was particularly caught by one gorgeous female with long wavy hair seemingly spun from silk. The glare she sent her way was bordering on malicious, a far stretch from the guarded ones her vampire pals were giving.

_I haven't even done anything to her. An arch enemy already? I'm setting a record here, _Kairi thought wryly.

"What's your name?" she looked directly at Ruka. The vampire added more venom to her glare as she grounded out 'Ruka Souen'.

Realization came into Kairi's eyes. "Ah. The Souen clan," Those from the Souen clan had always been more aggressive compared to the others. But why was Ruka acting like another tigress had encroached on her territory? By now, the other vampires had become aware of Ruka's growing animosity and Kairi decided to find out what got Ruka acting all hissy.

"What's your problem with me?"

Okay, it didn't quite come out the way she had in mind.

Ruka gripped her armrests and jerked her gaze away. Kairi and the other vampires arched a brow. Forget it;she had more important issues to address.

Plopping down in the only vacant spot on the loveseat between Kain and Aidou, Kairi began, ignoring the incredulous looks on the two vampires' faces when she seated herself between them.

"I'm sure you all knew of the vampire bio-genetics research Dr. Lucas and Dr. Reiko Ratoleia did,"

The small cluster of Night Class students nodded. She continued, "As their daughter, I have taken it upon myself to resume the project. I have made clear my intentions to Chairman Cross. As such, I need your cooperation on this."

Shiki voiced a question. "Why would you need our cooperation? Your parents did fine without any interference from a vampire."

"And you're just sixteen. How would you have the capability to conduct the research?" Rima added in a challenging tone.

Kairi sucked in a breath. _This is gonna take longer than I thought._

"I've known about your kind since the day I was born. I studied about vampires since I could read. You could say I was the unnamed assistant in my parents' work. I think this qualifies me as efficient enough." She eyed the group, daring them to go against her words.

At the silence, she went on, "After their death, I went to live with my grandmother. And now that my only remaining relative has passed away, I'm here under Chairman Cross' care as stated in my parents' will."

"As it is, the project has been on a year-long hiatus. I want to resume it, but at a faster pace to make up for lost time. Because of that and since there are actual vampires in the campus; I want to work with you all."

Kain went through her words carefully. "You're saying you want us to be your guinea pigs."

"More or less,"

Ruka, Aidou and Rima exploded at her confirmation. Kaname held up his hand and the protests died down immediately. Gracing Kairi with a nod, he gestured for her to go on.

"I know it's a shocker but look at it this way: helping me would mean faster progress and it benefits the pacifism ideals you all have been trying to forge with humans as they will have greater understanding of your kind."

Noticing the interested attitude, she plunged ahead. "You have nothing to lose." Twisting her neck to look at Kaname, she brought up his promise. "You said 'yes'. This is a turning point for your word."

The vampires looked intrigued, with the exception of Ruka who became suspicious, and focused solely on their leader at the human's words. Takuma had left out something important when he recounted the incident in Chairman Cross' office.

For his part, Kaname was becoming increasingly impressed towards Kairi. Last night, she had been frightened of coming in contact with his kind but not even a full 24 hours later, she had shown up on their doorstep with this proposal. _Why were you scared of us? _He questioned her silently. She just kept staring back into his crimson eyes unflinchingly, the same pair of eyes others often cowered in front of when they realized he was a Pureblood.

Kairi resisted the urge to squirm in her seat. It wasn't due to being sandwiched between two devastatingly handsome vampires; it was because of the way Kaname's eyes seem to read into her soul. She maintained her gaze and wished she had the ability to read his thoughts. What was he thinking that would cause his eyes to darken so as he dragged them across her face? Maybe she was better off not knowing.

Either way, it hadn't been easy for her to come to the decision to confront the vampires the way she did. She'd laid down all her cards and damn if she was going to back down or be rejected.

"Deal," Kaname's smooth baritone rang out.

Kairi's azure orbs widened with incredulity for a moment before they softened with gratitude. She gave Kaname with a sincere smile. "Thank you so much. That one word meant a lot to me."

The Pureblood returned her smile with a slight lift of his lips.

Ruka seethed at the display while the other vampires immediately became chummy around her since she received their Kaname-sama's approval.

The vampire on her left took hold of her hands in his and delivered a charming smile, his blue eyes sparking flirtatiously. "It's very nice to meet you Kairi-chan! I'm Hanabusa Aidou." His eyes roamed her face and body as he sighed appreciatively. "Kaname-sama and Ichijou didn't mention you were such a beauty."

Kairi freed her hands and gave his a light swat. "A typical playboy, are you?" she turned her back on him and faced the vampire on her right instead, ignoring the flabbergasted Aidou at her un-swooned state.

"Since Mr. Thinks-He's-A-Hotshot there is a Hanabusa, you should be an Akatsuki judging by the close physical resemblance between you two." She said to Kain and watched with amusement as he blinked stupidly at the bull's eye she hit.

Kain cleared away his surprise. "Yeah, my name's Kain."

Kairi gave a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you,"

All right, now she had names to go with the faces. Before she could ask the two remaining vampires for their names, the male one with stylishly messed hair and dark blue eyes opened his mouth. "I vanquish E-Level vampires with Ichijou."

_He wants me to guess, eh? Let's see…the Ichijou clan has authority to remove berserk E-Level vampires and the clan that assists is…_

"Your last name is Senri."

The equally handsome vampire looked up from the magazine he was lazily flipping through and met her gaze.

"Shiki," he said quietly. Kairi held in her triumphant smirk. Reading through the whole enchilada of vampire clans when she was four _did_ pay off despite her parents teasing her being crazy.

The pale girl next to Shiki nodded at her when Kairi switched her gaze. "I'm Rima Tooya."

Ruka stubbornly kept her eyes averted so Kairi let her be.

Takuma whistled when the introductions were over. "Wow, you know your stuff."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm lucky to have photographic memory. Or I would never have remembered all the details even if I read through the encyclopedia of vampire clans over and over for the next 11 years since the first time."

Aidou, Kain and Takuma's eyes boggled while Shiki, Rima and Ruka stared. Kaname just gave a chuckle.

Sensing the dark vibes Ruka was radiating, Kairi decided to call it quits before the vampire leapt at her with her fangs bared. "Now that the hard part's done and over with, I'd better go." _Or risk becoming pissed female vamp chow._

She stood and moved to the big wooden double doors. The vampires stood along with her and walked her to the exit, though Ruka's movements were decidedly wooden like a rusty robot's.

Kairi stepped out onto the hallway leading outside and turned to give a respectful bow. "Thank you again,"

Kaname favored her with an indulgent expression that Takuma caught. The Noble recognized it to be the one he gave Yuuki when she was a child every time he visited her. He hurriedly masked his astonished look and instead joked, "Your uniform is still white, Kairi."

The human girl frowned at her clothes. "I know. Chairman Cross didn't have a spare black one so I'm stuck with this until he places an order. I'll have to attend lessons in it and be the odd one out."

She made a face. "I don't want to think about the questions I'll be bombarded with as to why I'm wearing the Night Class uniform while attending Day Class."

Takuma grimaced as he thought about the violent reaction the Day Class girls were sure to have. He offered her a sympathetic smile, "I hope you won't break any bones."

Kairi wore a cute 'Huh?' expression and the Vice-Dorm Leader laughed. Being a transfer, she had no idea of how majority of the Day class students idolized the Night Class. She cast him an odd look before waving goodbye to the other vampires gathered by the door and jogged off in the direction of the Sun Dorm.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N:

Ruka picked up on the slight attraction between Kaname and Kairi. Yes, she'll be a jealous hussy for some time to come.

And Kaname's favoring of Kairi, I figured, can stem from the fact that he'd seen her emotionally weakened before and in a sense reminded him of young Yuuki when he first rescued her. Hence the indulgent smile.

Review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: VK belongs to Hino Matsuri

**Disclaimer: **VK belongs to Hino Matsuri.

**CHAPTER 5**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_That went over better than I envisioned,_ Kairi thought as she bustled around her room, getting ready for her first day of classes. The vampires were actually rather friendly once you got past their guarded exterior. Or if you got Kaname's approval. _Hmm, I suppose I better call him senpai during school hours. Wouldn't want anyone out for my neck if I showed disrespect, _she figured.

Since she lived most years of her life in the States, formalities never grew on Kairi. Neither did holding back her tongue. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She swung it open and Yuuki greeted her from the other side.

"Morning sister! I thought we could have breakfast together before heading to class."

Something welled up inside her at being addressed as family. She gave the grinning Yuuki a genuine smile at the other girl's acceptance of her. "That'll be great."

At the cafeteria, the place was filled with Day Class students chatting as they ate their morning repast. It was a big difference from the near emptiness on Sunday. Even the queues were long. Yuuki explained to her about prefect duties on the way to the café. They walked in the wide open doors and got in line.

"So at every 5 pm on school days, I have to report to the Moon Dorm's gates—" the redhead broke off when she noticed the dead silence that had befallen the entire cafeteria. Even the lunch lady who was doling out a serving of mashed potato onto Yuuki's tray had fallen quiet, frozen in mid-motion with the scoop poised above Yuuki's plate. Kairi realized the cafeteria lady was staring at her with a star struck kind of shock. In fact, she swiveled her head to look, the entire Day Class student population was staring at her in awe.

_The uniform,_ she reminded herself. When they had been leaving the vacated Sun Dorm, Yuuki had asked why Kairi's clothes were still white. Obviously the Chairman mentioned to Yuuki and most likely Zero too about putting her in the Night Class which she declined, but failed to tell them she still didn't own a black uniform. At least that's two people she didn't have to explain it to, which leaves the rest of the Day Class student body.

Swell.

The silence dragged on and Kairi could have sworn if a pin dropped, the sound would have been deafening. She cleared her throat awkwardly and faced the lunch lady, placing an order for Breakfast Set A. The portly middle-aged woman blinked a few times before she triggered into action, getting her meal prepared swiftly and holding out the ready tray for Kairi with reverence.

The redhead gave an appreciative thank you, to which the lunch lady nearly fainted at, before she moved on with Yuuki to find a seat. Everywhere was occupied but as they neared a table with a group of males, the boys immediately sprang up and offered them their seats.

_Well, I'm not one to turn down a generous offer._ Kairi graced the goo-goo eyed boys with a dazzling smile, effectively turning them to mush while the other students watched on. Sliding into her seat smoothly opposite Kairi, Yuuki leaned forward and whispered, "Gods, have they got the N.C.W.S. bad!"

Kairi raised a brow. "N.C.W.S.?"

"Night Class Worship Syndrome," Yuuki said as she took a sip from her glass of milk. The redhead laughed. "Wait till prefect hours. You'll find out how much _more_ worse the N.C.W.S. gets."

Kairi gave Yuuki a wary look which the other girl responded by digging into her casserole.

Halfway through their meal, Kairi felt curious about why the Day Class students would think she was really from Night Class when she lacked that ethereal glow to her form, though they had stopped staring already; thank god for that.

She voiced her thoughts to Yuuki and the girl gave her a disbelieving look. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

"Just this morning, in fact. Why? Do I have unbrushed plague still stuck on my teeth?" she asked worriedly.

Yuuki shook her head. "Far from it, you've got pearly whites. And if you haven't noticed, your looks rank up there with the Night Class. Add your special coloring into the mix and you fit right in with them. See why they thought you were one of the elite?"

"But I'm not Night Class-anything! And my coloring is due to my mixed heritage. Besides, red hair and blue eyes are rather common in the States, you know." She said in a lowered voice.

"It isn't in Japan." Yuuki pointed out. Kairi grudgingly admitted her reasoning was justifiable though it was shallow of the Day Class students to focus solely on good looks, though it was for the best this way. If they knew what lay behind the beautiful veneer of every Night Class student and the extent of how much she actually relates to them…

Kairi shook away those thoughts. She'll go down that particular memory lane only when working on the project. Inhaling in the last of her breakfast, they left the cafeteria as the bell rang to signal the start of lessons.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hugging a heavy armload of worksheets and notes, Kairi frantically jogged to the Moon Dorm's gates. She was late for prefect duty thanks to that crazy teacher who kept her back after class for pop quizzes to gauge the extent of what she learnt back in her previous school. Then she was forced to sit and wait while he graded her papers. Even worse, she had to endure a mini lecture on how she still had to work hard and catch up on Cross Academy's curriculum despite her near perfect marks.

_Good thing I aced those tests. Lord knows he'll give me more worksheets if I failed_, Kairi hurried across the campus grounds. Kamakuro Sensei had brushed aside her prefect duties when she pointed out she had to leave. In fact, the man looked downright annoyed when she mentioned 'prefect'. _Methinks he has a grudge against prefects, _the redhead thought as she neared the Moon Dorm. Her run slowed into a walk before she stopped in her tracks completely, staring at the giant crowd of Day Class girls gathered on either side of the huge gates, giggling and wearing hearts in their eyes. Was there some celebrity coming she didn't know about?

"Kairi! You're finally here! Where were you?" Yuuki exclaimed from where she was holding off a horde of girls from getting too close to the gates. Zero merely stood in front of his side of girls and they stayed a respectable distance from him. Kairi had to give dibs to that killer look on his face though. Zero knew how to pull one mean death glare.

The Day Class girls froze in their giggly actions before they whipped their heads to look at her._ Shoot. Yuuki shouldn't have yelled my name! _Then they burst into gasps and started screaming her name instead, just as the gates creaked opened and the vampires poured out.

"Crap!" Yuuki shouted. It was going to be double torture getting the Night Class to the classroom block when the human girls were going wild over them _and _Kairi. How was her foster sister going to be able to help when she's busy saving her hide from the clutches of the Day Class girls? Yuuki would never have guessed how popular Kairi could get. In spite of the redhead declining to be associated with the Night Class and that her white uniform was an order mix-up, she still won the adoration of boys and girls alike by the end of the Day Class lessons with her modest behavior and that understated dignity she possessed.

Although, Yuuki reasoned, it was most likely the friendly aura of Kairi's that endeared the other students to her in addition to her bearing resemblance to the vampires because the Night Class was never approachable despite pretending to be so. As much as the girls shrieked and professed their love, Yuuki supposed that deep down, the humanity of the girls recognized that the Night Class were something else entirely. Something else not human like them. Something _dangerous_.

Since Kairi had none of that keep-your-distance vibe, it was only natural for them to stick to her like glue, what with the white uniform she was temporarily sporting.

On the other side of the gates, Kain was running a hand through his head, giving a frustrated sigh at having to do this almost every day. In contrast, Aidou was hopping with excitement while the other vampires wore bored expressions. Imagine their surprise when they stepped out to see the Day Class girls _not_ fawning over them. Instead, they crowded in on the pretty newcomer, screaming her name.

Kairi's feet flew into action and she deftly ducked down and tumble-rolled away from the oncoming girls. Executing neat somersaults, she landed in between Yuuki and Aidou. Straightening, she breathed in as the vampires, Yuuki and Zero looked at her in amazement. Nobody escaped the clutches of rabid fangirls so easily!

Yanking on her prefect armband, Kairi smacked Aidou in the face with her thick worksheet stack when he began showering her with compliments.

"Save it." They had work to do.

The girls blinked at the sudden disappearance of their newest idol then they turned and saw her—uncaring of the prefect armband—standing alongside the Night Class students. Shrieking anew, the girls leapt as one in their direction. Kairi's eyes bugged at the onslaught. This was part of prefect duties?! Chairman Cross was _really_ stretching the meaning of prefect there.

Kairi jumped in front of Kaname just as a girl threw herself forward, colliding together with her. Yuuki covered the west perimeter while Zero had the east. Kairi took the center and also the brunt of the attack as the person she was shielding was Kaname. _You'd think he'll help! But noooo, he's just staring down at my head and—, _her thoughts flew from her mind when she felt Kaname leaning close into her and getting a whiff of her hair which she, thankfully, had washed earlier this morning with her favorite strawberry-scented shampoo. Then the Pureblood moved an inch forward and their bodies came into contact.

Kairi froze up at the feel of the solid form at her back. For crying out loud, the curve of her derrière was nestled against his hips! She jerked her head around, hissing, "What are you doing?"

That utterly striking visage of Kaname's gave a playful smirk.

Momentarily distracted, Kairi couldn't defend herself when more girls slammed into her and shoved her further against Kaname. She 'oofed' and snapped her attention back to the task at hand, pushing against the girls and getting them to back off a few steps, removing her body from contact with Kaname's.

_Lucky thing no one else noticed that little display,_ her cheeks flamed. Everybody was busy fending off girls or in the girls' case, trying not to be fended off. Zero was spitting curses as the girls tried to bypass him and Kairi decided to do some yelling of her own. "Move it!"

A few pairs of hands wrapped around her outstretched one and a couple more grabbed her right arm that was curled around the papers. _What--? _Her eyes widened and she barely screamed for Yuuki before she was yanked into the mess where she was immediately manhandled by her new fans, her load of papers scattering like dead leaves.

Yuuki twisted her head in time to see Kairi getting swallowed by the Day Class students. Skidding to Kaname, Yuuki managed to act as a barricade in time, leaving Aidou's side unprotected as girls swarmed him and Kain. Zero wasn't having much luck controlling his side either as the girls had a tactic of stomping on his feet before trying to dart pass. He forcibly restrained himself from pulling out his gun and firing a few shots.

They were getting overwhelmed. The girls were pushing them back and the Night Class was unable to move forward.

Plus, one of the prefects was currently jammed between a dozen Day Class students as they squabbled to have a chance to touch her hair.

Kairi struggled to free herself as her classmates yanked on her long hair left and right, exclaiming about the color or its silkiness. Something white on the ground caught her eye and she realized it was one of Kamakuro Sensei's worksheets, right before a few feet trampled on it. Her heart sank as she imagined the verbal abuse to her ears when she handed in dirty tattered papers to the fussy teacher.

She redoubled in her efforts to get free as more girls crowded onto her in an attempt to touch a "Night Class" student, never mind she was a prefect. The touches began to get out of control when the girls and some guys began landing their hands everywhere just to have a feel since her hair was all booked. Hands suddenly landed on her legs, some dangerously close to under her skirt and she let out a shriek.

_I'm being groped and my papers are getting shoeprints! _A vein of anger popped up on her forehead. The growing cacophony surrounding her was liable to turn her insane or the heat from the surrounding cloister of bodies would roast her alive if she didn't do something soon. Sucking in a big breath, she let it rip.

"QUIEEEEEEEEET!!"

Miraculously, they did.

She wrested free and emerged from the heart of the crowd, gasping for air. Seeing her worksheets strewn all over the ground and brownish instead of its former pristine white, Kairi had had the last straw.

Snapping to face the girls (and some boys), she worked her lungs. "All of you _GET IN LINE!_"

The black clad students scrambled to follow her orders, gathering in neat rows on either side of Moon Dorm's gates, as if they were in military school instead.

"Zero, Yuuki, herd them back to their dorms." Her tone brooked no argument so Zero actually let her order him around. But just this once.

"Get moving." He growled at the girls when they stayed stuck, giving longing looks at their white counterparts, in particular at Kaname and Kairi. _Why would they be starry eyed over the person who just barked at them?_ The silver haired teen decided this was one of life's unsolvable mysteries, along with what went on inside these fangirls' heads.

Yuuki had gotten her rows moving already and she walked alongside them to prevent any fanatic from jumping out. Zero copied her example and soon they vanished from sight as they rounded the classroom block with the Day Class students to head for the Sun Dorm.

That left Kairi and the bewildered Night Class standing at the gates of Moon Dorm with her papers as floor decorations.

Heaving a tired sigh, she knelt down and began the arduous job of picking her notes off the ground. A hand came into her vision and held out a few sheets. Kairi blinked and traced her gaze up the arm to see Kaname giving her a slight smile.

"My thanks, _General_," He teased.

She huffed and snatched the papers from his hand. "Shut up."

Ruka's eyes narrowed into slits as she watched the exchange. She used all of her willpower to prevent stomping over and yanking Kaname-sama's hand away from that little human girl, reminding herself that it would shatter her air of elegance.

Collecting the papers around her, Kairi stood and blinked when Takuma and Rima handed her the rest of her worksheets, the former with appreciation for what she did and the latter maintaining her cool expression. "…Thanks."

Aidou bounced to her side, latching onto her free hand. "Whoa, I didn't know Kairi could be such a fierce lioness! Wanna roar in bed?" he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Go hang yourself." She deadpanned and pulled her hand free. Her eyes darted to the clock tower at the classroom block. "Get going, you're late for class."

She shuffled her papers into a semblance of orderliness though they were crumpled beyond crumpling. She still had to do this stack by tonight. As the Night Class students walked passed, an idea struck her and she stopped another gorgeous short haired vampire girl.

"Hey, what's your name?"

The female stared at her face for a while, not offended at the casual hand the redheaded human placed on her forearm.

"Seiren,"

Kairi offered her a grin. "Hi there, Seiren. Will you guys be having Kamakuro Sensei's classes tonight?"

Seiren nodded and Kairi stopped herself from whopping out a cheer. Yes! Now she could carry out what she had in mind and delay the deadline for this stack of homework. Better still, she might not even have to do it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N:

Kairi's got a plan up her sleeve. It actually has more to do with the vampires than worrying about her homework.

And I'm making Seiren one of the closer vampires to Kairi. Because the manga portrays her as a distant kind of person, it gives me room to expand her character to suit my plot.

The entire chaotic-ness of the class exchange was pretty ugh to write. I think there'll be a distinct lack of emphasis on that part from now on.

The whole manhandling part probably seems extreme, but in reality stars get mobbed like that if their bodyguards aren't there to protect them, ne?

Review please. Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: VK is property of Hino Matsuri

**Disclaimer: **VK is property of Hino Matsuri.

**CHAPTER 6**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Really, it's a great idea. Kills two birds with one stone,_ Kairi repeated for the fifth time in her mind.

She trailed behind the Night Class, Seiren surprisingly walking alongside her. The redhead was grateful for the company, though the vampire kept silent.

Her great spur of the moment idea was simple: Enter Night Class tonight. Convince Kamakuro sensei for a change in assignment, showing the proof that the trampled worksheets was caused by the Day Class and not because she'd used them for toilet paper overnight. And try getting the vampires' attention for the research by taking this giant leap of attending their class.

See? Three simple steps with two (hopefully) achievable aims.

The doors for the Chemistry class appeared and Kairi tamped down on her panic attack, reassuring herself it would work. To a degree anyway. If she couldn't have both, she could at least have one of her aims.

At that point, she also realized she'd make a lousy salesperson as she still couldn't even convince herself. Her stomach was doing violent flip-flops while she approached the perpetually scowling teacher, praying to every god out there that Kamakuro sensei would accept her idea of an assignment trade.

Seiren offered her a nod before she stepped into the class. The quiet vampire's way of encouragement, Kairi was sure.

"Ratoleia! What are you doing here? This isn't your class hours!" The teacher barked at her.

"Um…Sir, I have something to ask you." She began awkwardly, aware that the entire Night Class was focused on her. The teacher's table was also conveniently located in the center of the classroom, making her all the more prominent.

She revealed the dirty stack of papers and shoved them under the sensei's nose. "An unfortunate…accident happened during prefect duty. I was hoping to get an assignment trade…"

She trailed off at the dark glare the teacher pinned on her. She sweated nervously as Kamakuro sensei studied her for a full minute.

"Very well," He said in resignation. Kairi blinked owlishly, hearing but not believing.

"Y-you're giving me the okay?"

He scowled at her. "Didn't you hear?"

Kairi nodded frantically. Satisfied with her response, he went on, "Your assignment trade would be to…teach the Night Class tonight's chemistry lesson."

The stack of papers she was clutching tightly onto fell from her numb fingers to land with a dull thud on the teacher's desk.

"Teach??" she squawked, causing some eyes to swerve in her direction.

Kamakuro sensei gave an evil smirk. "Yes, teach. They will be reviewing what you aced on the test this afternoon. Think of it as a student-to-student help session."

Kairi swallowed. Of all the assignments he could have issued her, it just had to be something impossibly difficult. Go figure. That man was one hell of a taskmaster. No wonder he was the No.1 Public Enemy on Yuuki's shit list.

"Couldn't I have something…less stressful?" she pleaded weakly.

Kairi knew she was more than able to teach organic chemistry but she couldn't teach on such sudden notice! _Wasn't your great idea also a spur of the moment thing? _A voice rang through her head. She shoved the voice to the darkest depths of her mind and ignored it.

"Or you could stick to the worksheets. But I'll expect them on my desk before breakfast tomorrow morning. A little something in exchange for having me grade such ruined papers." Kamakuro sensei rolled out casually.

_Damn him,_ she thought viciously. Neither choice was good. Admittedly, the worksheets were the lesser of the two evils but teaching would give her a chance to familiarize with the Night Class atmosphere and it'll help her gain some trust from the vampires. She gnawed her lower lip indecisively. True, she'd given herself a mini prep talk about tackling the Night Class head-on but now that the opportunity actually presented itself….she was having second-thoughts about it.

"I don't have all night, Ratoleia!" Sensei snapped at her irritably.

_I'm not gonna like it, but I've gotta do it._ She told herself firmly, opening her mouth.

"I'll teach."

Kamakuro sensei's face broke into a Cheshire catlike grin and Kairi's alarms went on red alert. He was most likely imagining her making a fool out of herself in front of the elite class.

He stood abruptly from his chair and addressed the Night Class.

"Ratoleia would be teaching tonight's chemistry lesson as an assignment trade. Class, greet your temporary sensei. Meanwhile, I shall sit at the back of the room to observe."

Dubious frowns and silent mockery were thrown her way.

_What did I get myself into? _She was distracted from her thoughts when Evil Incarnate turned back to her.

"If you can pull this off with good inputs from the Night Class, I will waiver your homework for 3 months." The man looked downright smug as the stakes were raised.

_3 months!_ Her mind screamed. If she were homework free for 3 months, she could do a ton of research during that time, making progress significantly. Determination flared in her eyes.

"You got a deal."

Kamakuro sensei moved to take a seat at an empty desk at the far end of the classroom and Kairi hung onto her resolve, facing the Night Class to begin lesson……

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A gloved hand with a stylized 'L' on the leather held out a manila folder.

Another hand, this one with age lines, held out a metallic briefcase.

An exchange was made and the information inside the folder was quickly digested. A pause and then, "Everything stated here is printed with the most current details?"

"Of course; I have realized the consequences of sloppiness."

"I see. I have come to a decision."

"I'm sure you would have." The informant answered.

"Do you accept?"

Whirling and clicking of machines droned in the background. The dim lighting hid the feral grin of the informant.

"I would have it no other way."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"To wrap it up, the homologous series are the indicators of what kind of—" Kairi halted at the sound of sharp rapping against the window pane. _Who?_

The face of Yuuki Cross peered into the classroom as the girl stood on the wide overhang outside the window. Kairi crossed the room and opened the window a crack, ignoring Kamakuro sensei's outraged cry of curriculum interruption. Her foster sister poked her head in and looked from the Night Class students to the tables and diagrams on the whiteboard.

"…Are you _teaching_ the _Night Class_?" Yuuki asked in utter disbelief.

"Yeah, I am—" Kamakuro sensei hollered for Yuuki to remove herself from the classroom premises immediately as lessons were ongoing. "—I'll explain later. You'd better go before he bursts a blood vessel." Kairi whispered.

Yuuki pulled away from the window, giving a discreet evil eye at Kamakuro sensei. "You're skipping on prefect duty. You'll have to make up for it!"

She turned and ran to the edge of the overhang before leaping off to the ground. Kairi closed the window and resumed finishing up class. The bell dinged while she was in mid-sentence and she closed the lesson by completing her words. The Night Class students began gathering their materials to move ahead for their next class and Kairi was about to bolt herself to join Zero and Yuuki in prefect duty when Evil Incarnate stopped everyone.

Returning to the front of the classroom, Kamakuro sensei dropped the bomb. "Now then class, what do you think of Ratoleia _sensei_'s teachings?" Sarcasm lined his voice when he mentioned 'sensei'.

Kairi could see some vampires ready to fire out that she was just some incompetent twit with zilch teaching ability. _So much for winning them over,_ she thought sourly. Then she'll lose the No-Homework deal as well. The redhead thought it was a failed attempt to hit either of her targets when Kaname complimented her.

"Kairi makes a decent teacher."

She looked at Kaname in surprise. Who'd have thought? It wasn't the most wonderful thing he could have said but it worked. Kamakuro sensei grumbled before grousing out, "Fine. You're homework free for the next 3 months."

Her indigo eyes widened to golf ball proportions. Kaname also held influence over the teachers? And Evil Incarnate had simply agreed by the Pureblood's decision alone? Even the gaze of the other vampires who regarded her mockingly before weren't nearly as rude now.

_Wow._

The grin emanating from her happiness at achieving both her goals could have rivaled the sun. "See you tomorrow, sensei!"

That said, she moved along with the throng of leaving students before heading in the opposite direction, skipping along the way to find Zero and Yuuki. She'd reckoned they'll be hanging around the Sun Dorm area to prevent any Day Class student from sneaking out. Humming, she made her way over.

She was jogging toward the Sun Dorm when a tingle of awareness shot up her spine. She felt something—no, someone watching her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she froze on the spot. There was something about this feeling…something oddly familiar. Her eyes scanned the surrounding foliage but the moonless night sky coupled with the few lamps made it difficult to detect if anyone was truly present.

Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the eerie sensation of being watched vanished. Kairi didn't allow herself to relax yet, her spine still stiff straight, hands clenched at her sides. She listened closely to any kind strange scuffling sounds but the only thing she heard was the rustling of leaves in the wind.

A hand descended on her shoulder out of the blue and Kairi screamed bloody murder loud enough Chairman Cross probably heard it on the other side of the campus.

On automatic reflex, she dug her elbow into the person's gut, grabbing the wrist and bending over at the waist, tossing the fellow over her shoulder. The person landed with a loud, pained thump just as Kairi heard Yuuki gasp.

Her fear left her to be replaced by panic when she saw whom she attacked.

Zero Kiryuu had his eyes shut from the dizzying effect when his head hit the pavement solidly. Opening them once his head cleared, he speared Kairi with a fierce violet glare and the redhead 'eeped'. Pushing himself up, he rubbed his head while the foster sisters crowded around him, Yuuki checking his head while Kairi apologized profusely.

"Who else do you think was out and about patrolling at this hour?" He growled, furious the petite redhead managed to pull one over him.

"Someone…" Kairi began hesitantly.

Yuuki stopped fussing over the small bump and Zero took in the unsure scared expression on Kairi's face. Something had happened before he frightened the living daylights out of her. But what could have scared her so?

"Kairi?" Yuuki asked, concerned.

The redhead shook her head vehemently. "No, no. Nothing. It was probably nothing."

The seasoned prefects eyed their new comrade. Zero figured she'll come clean when she wanted to and closed the topic for now. "Duties are waiting. You've got extra patrol hours for skipping."

Thoughts of the eerie experience earlier flew from her mind at Zero's words.

"Aw man!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N:

I hope that I can keep the entire suspense thingy rolling. It's my first time writing anything of that kind and if I didn't do so well….there's more chapters for improvement.

The evil sensei, by the way, is the guy from one of the manga chapters (I forgot which) where he yells about Yuuki and Zero sleeping in class all the time and wonders what they do. I think he also gave Yuuki detention or extra classes. So yep, that's the sensei and I decided to name him Kamakuro (no specific meaning, just a random name). He has a vendetta toward prefects, obviously.

And please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: VK is not mine

**Disclaimer: **VK is not mine.

Thanks for the reviews, readers! Sorry for the weeks of no updating. School term has started already and I'm in lectures more often than spending time on this fic. Well now, without further ado, here's the new chapter!

**CHAPTER 7**

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kairi staggered into class next morning cranky and hungry. She'd barely gotten 4 hours of sleep, credit to one slave-driver a.k.a. Zero. That guy sure knew how to make a trainee prefect suffer. He made her patrol the Moon Dorm well into the unholy hours of the morning before dismissing her. By the time she hit the sack, she was so trashed that she slept in her uniform with her shoes on.

Slumping down in her seat next to Yuuki, Kairi folded her arms on the table and laid her head down for some shut-eye. A sudden rumble came from her stomach and Kairi groaned. In exchange for more sleep, she'd traded breakfast. Now her empty belly was protesting. Loudly.

Yuuki sympathized with her foster sister as she knew first-hand how much of a sadist Zero could be. The jerk didn't even look concerned or turn behind to ask if Kairi was okay. Yuuki glared a hole into the back of his silver head but Zero remained looking ahead. She reached under her desk and pulled out a chocolate mocha drink, nudging the redhead. Kairi lifted her head and saw the offering of caffeine. Snatching the plastic cup from Yuuki, she ripped the lid off and chugged it down like the caffeine-starved girl she was.

"Better?" Yuuki asked after she finished off the mocha.

"Not yet. But I will be later when the caffeine kicks in. God knows I need it." Kairi crushed the plastic cup and eyed Zero's head a few rows down. Yuuki noticed the crafty gleam in her eyes and halted the redhead.

"You'll get more extra hours."

Kairi huffed and stowed the cup under her desk. "Dang,"

Conversation halted as more students straggled into class followed by the teacher and class started. Kairi and Yuuki played a game of 'Jab the Snoozer' to keep the redhead awake to prevent her from ending up in detention after lessons. And boy, did Yuuki have a strong jabbing elbow. When the final bell rang and Day Class students rushed to squeeze out the door, Kairi was massaging her sore side from the constant jabs.

Zero had already made his way out with a parting "Don't be late for prefect duties," at the girls. Kairi yawned and stretched, feeling more revived now that she had forty winks in between classes. Yuuki pushed in her chair and grabbed their books.

"Lunch?"

Kairi leapt up from her seat. "Definitely,"

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Yeowh!" Kairi yelped and cursed viciously when a sizeable lock of her hair got yanked so hard her entire body tilted to one side. Aidou 'tut-tut' at her use of unladylike language while he nimbly dodged a groping hand. Kairi extracted her hair from the fist of another student and ignored him.

Yuuki caught the exchange and chided, "Aidou-sempai, don't antagonize her."

Aidou deigned to reply as the prefects went about putting students in their places, employing the effective tactics of shoving, pushing, pulling and swearing. When things calmed down a bit, Yuuki and Kairi didn't hesitate and bulldozed the Night Class toward the classroom block while Zero held the fawning fangirls at bay with his patented death glare.

Kaname and Kairi shared a passing glance and the girl quickly directed her gaze elsewhere. At last the Night Class was safely ensconced in the school building and Zero sent the remaining Day Class students packing.

Kairi heaved a tired sigh. This was becoming routine. A month into her arrival at Cross Academy and she was already getting unhinged. Add to the frenzy of prefect duties were the impending project and that nagging feeling of unease she was still unable to shake off. It was also why she avoided contact with the Night Class, with exception of Seiren. She didn't need them to further frazzle her nerves. However, with the quiet vampire's help, the project was progressing along much more rapidly than she'd expected.

But since she didn't inform her findings to Kaname or Ichijou and neither did Seiren report her activities, strange as that was, she was approached now and then by Ichijou or another vampire who questioned if she was going to experiment on them anytime soon, other than the initial blood sample she had taken from each of them. They didn't realize she was already doing so with Seiren.

And with herself.

That was the risky part of her experiment she resolutely refused to mention to anybody. Her parents had deciphered the DNA codes of the vampires in hopes of creating better and stronger humans. What they hadn't been able to do was to put their theory into practice. Hence she had taken it upon herself to be the test subject, infusing into her bloodstream various abilities of both Noble and Pureblood vampires which she'd combined in hopes of creating something more powerful from the fusion.

Seiren was there to provide her with the correct basis of a vampire's DNA makeup should she required reverting some of the other vampires' DNA structure she'd warped back to a semblance of its original state for further documentation or mixing with other bloodlines.

Besides, Kairi couldn't think of any other vampire who'd readily offer themselves up for the job where they would have to endure her digging into their flesh with medical needles in various veins and withstanding the occasional injection for her to record down any kind of reaction or allergy the vampire immune system could have to human vaccines.

But the lab work was at a standstill so far. She had yet to find one combination which went over well with the human body without crippling something else in the process. Once, she'd achieved tremendous telekinetic powers but in return the vampire cells ate away her antibodies. She then diluted the telekinesis with the addition of genes from another vampire bloodline. Originally, the bloodline boasted the specialty of instant healing upon intake of blood. But when she injected a dose of those cells, they mutated somehow when they came in contact with her blood. While she was able to heal without a mark whenever she cut herself, the process wasn't very instantaneous at all and since she didn't drink blood, the ability siphoned off some of _her_ blood in order to work.

Which led to her current predicament. Suffering from anemia while toeing the edge to prevent anyone from finding out the true extent of her research and coping with the daily hassles of school life. Everyone thought the research was a pen and paper thing and Kairi intended to let them think that way. Only Seiren knew the risks of her constantly altering her own DNA. She could very well drop down dead suddenly if the healing ability drained too much of her blood or fall severely ill since the telekinesis continued eating away her antibodies, just at a much slower rate. In fact, Kairi had to swallow mass quantities of iron pills and antibiotics every night to replenish what she lost during the day. Add to that mental and physical fatigue, it was a miracle she could still function under these conditions.

After all, Mother Nature never intended for DNA to be tampered with. She had a gut feeling the Night Class suspected something less than ethical going on whenever her and Seiren got together. Chairman Cross, Yuuki and Zero also noticed her lackluster behavior during the day, another downside of encoding vampire cells into her DNA. She began to feel dreary and worn out under sunlight as was typical of the Night Class students. This was a problem she was currently pouring her concentration into fixing, with Seiren as the lab assistant of sorts in her dorm-room-turned-mad-scientist laboratory.

You could even say she had become a part-time hermit, what with her holing herself up in her room during Friday nights and weekends and refusing entry to anybody. It was partly to avoid seeing Kaname, whom she just knew wouldn't be very happy if he found out about the altered state of her body. Regardless, she still has many more bloodlines to mix and match.

"Are you okay?"

Yuuki's worried tone jarred Kairi out of her musings. No offense to the girl, but she wasn't very intuitive and had yet to realize something amiss every time Kairi brushed off her concerns. But Zero, he was entirely different. That sharp gaze of his always speared her with the guilt of lying – _covering up the truth,_ she amended – to her foster family. If he ever had to be an interrogator, Kairi had no doubt his victim would start blubbering away whether or not he committed the crime once Zero cast that glacier stare.

She offered a weak grin. "I'm fine. Don't be a worry-wart. You've asked me six times now."

Yuuki smiled back tentatively, uncertainty clouding her hazel eyes. She glanced over at Zero, whose countenance was stony. She was sure Zero suspected something but he dodged every time she popped a question about Kairi spending too much time on the project. But she couldn't very well hogtie her foster sister and force her to spit out the truth under threats of starvation though the pallor of Kairi's face was bordering on sickly. The girl was also less enthusiastic during mealtimes and becoming lethargic in the day, coming to life more so only when evening set in.

_If I didn't know better, I'd think she's beginning to act like a vampire!_ The thought sprouted in Yuuki's mind suddenly and just as quickly, she squashed it. That was impossible. Kairi was a 100 certified human being. But her eyes betrayed her as they strayed to the hint of teeth seen between the redhead's slightly parted lips to confirm there weren't fangs.

To her intense relief, there was nothing pointy regarding her canines. Kairi had blunt human teeth just like any other Day Class student.

"I'm going back to my room. Don't disturb me unless someone's dying," Kairi joked lightly in an attempt to clear the sudden oppressive atmosphere that had fallen over the three of them. She turned and jogged away, leaving Yuuki and Zero to their thoughts.

--

A/N:

More insight on the project! Now you guys know what Kairi does during lab sessions.

I also hope I'm not violating any humanity rights, what with the altering DNA stuff and all.

The story's pace is also picking up. I know there's a distinct lack of Yuuki/Zero action but I'll remedy that in the next chapter.

Reviews are greatly appreciated!


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